You’ve been injured in a New Orleans car accident. You’re out of the hospital now, but your injuries were severe enough that you won’t be able to go back to work for a while — maybe never. The bills are adding up, and since you can’t work you have no way to pay them.
If your wreck was the fault of another driver, their insurance company may offer you a quick cash settlement for your accident-related damages. These damages can include medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering to name a few.
You may be tempted to accept this settlement — it would solve the current money problems caused by your car accident — but beware. While the settlement amount may pay the current bills, it is unlikely that it will be sufficient to pay the total costs of your injuries.
Does the Settlement Cover the Total Costs of Your Car Accident Injuries?
When determining a settlement amount for your injuries, it’s critical to take into account not only your current expenses but also your ongoing expenses and expected losses. Ongoing expenses can include ongoing medical treatments, therapy, medication, etc. Long-term unemployment or being unable to resume your previous job should also be accounted for in your losses. Medical treatments may be more than you realize at first because when the hospital or your health insurance finds out you got money from a settlement, they will want their money back too. You could end up taking less than you owe them!
Always remember, the insurance companies are in business to make money. They make money by charging their customer premiums — they don’t make money by paying maximum compensation for claims. This means they’ll try to get away with paying you as little as possible.
If you accept their settlement, you’ll be unable to seek further compensation for any future losses related to your accident injuries.
Before you accept a settlement with an insurance company after a car accident, you should ensure it’s sufficient to not only cover your current injury-related expenses but also those you’ll have down the line. So how do you ensure you get the total compensation you deserve for your car accident-related injuries? Easy — hire a New Orleans personal injury attorney.
JJC Law Is Here to Help After Your New Orleans Car Accident
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, your friends and family have probably told you to contact a personal injury attorney. Take their advice! An experienced New Orleans car accident attorney can protect your rights and interests to ensure you get the total cash settlement to which you are entitled.
JJC Law has successfully represented clients injured in a wide range of New Orleans car accidents, as well as motorcycle and big truck accidents. We can help you determine an adequate dollar amount that covers all your damages and aggressively negotiate a satisfactory settlement with the other driver’s insurance company.
Worried about how you can afford exceptional legal representation when you can’t even pay your bills? Don’t. We accept New Orleans car accident cases on a contingency basis, which means you won’t have to pay us until we win your case.
Contact JJC Law today to schedule a free, initial consultation to discuss your case.